India’s Effort In Renewable Energy Led To Drop In Solar Price: US

India’s massive effort towards renewable energy has resulted in considerable drop in solar price and the country now believes that the solar power is cheaper than coal without subsidy, US lawmakers have been told.

“I was really struck by just the transition in this single year between April and June, driven I think by decisions in India related to that dropping price,” influential Senator Jeff Merkley said during a Congressional hearing last week.

Merkley said during the hearing on Energy and International Development that because of India’s effort in renewable energy there has been a considerable drop in solar price. He referred to his conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the transition. “At one point in a conversation with the Prime Minister in India, he was relaying — this is now outdated, but he wanted to reach two-thirds of the 300 million folks in India with electricity from coal—powered plants and a third with renewable,” he said.

“And I asked what was driving the separation between those two, and said it was a very high interest rate on a renewable energy projects which I think he pegged at about 15 per cent. What kind of work are we seeing in the international community to provide affordable financing for renewable energy, electricity?” Merkley asked. Read More…